236 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



stand the heat of such a box in a warm climate, at least six 

 or seven hours of the day. It is true they nearly always have 

 black men for cooks, who are used to a great deal more heat 

 than their northern pale-colored brethren, but even these, I 

 should think, must have their very marrow dried up. 



Before the galley there is also a blacksmith shop, most 

 commonly fitted up in a kind of box, capable of being moved 

 from one place to another ; a blacksmith always having some- 

 thing to do on board a whale-ship in mending of spades, 

 lances, or irons, and fitting rings or hasps on other articles, 

 for the ship itself or the boats. 



Between the main and mizzen masts, and usually extend- 

 ing behind the latter, a framework of spars is erected, called 

 bearers, upon which the spare boats, nearly always four, are 

 turned bottom upwards. 



We ran south nearly fourteen days, and tried to get as far 

 east out of the trades as we possibly could ; but it was very 

 little, for the wind instead of being north-east, northward of 

 the line, blew nearly due east, and our vessel, no first-rate 

 one by the wind, could not work up well against it. Besides 

 that we sailed very slowly, and therefore drifted the more. 

 The "Alexander Bar kley," an American built ship, before 

 she started from Bremen, instead of being coppered, was 

 covered with plates of new invention, a kind of zinc which. 

 while being a great deal cheaper than copper, was said to last 

 just as long ; but the ship had not been out more than two 

 or three months before the plates began to give way, and whiM 

 I came on board, about twelve months after her first start, 

 there was hardly any of it left on her bow, and on both sides 

 the rags hung perfectly round her retarding us, of course, 

 considerably, and stopping her headway. 



Thursday, the 2nd of January, we crossed the line in about 

 one hundred and fifty-six degrees west longitude, and two days 

 afterward the call gladdened our ears, " There she blows !" 



A person who has never heard this call on board a whale- 



